Kylie Minogue to be judge on The Voice in UK

Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue has been named as one of the judges of the British version of the global talent franchise, The Voice.

But the 45-year-old Minogue comes to the job with enormous pressure on her shoulders.

Despite a strong first season, the British version of The Voice struggled in its second. The Australian version of the show, in contrast, is an unqualified hit.

In the UK market, rival shows The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent have a more established footprint and have delivered a succession of hit artists.

Compounding the pressure, the reported £500,000 ($848,275) fee Minogue is being paid has also attracted scrutiny.

The Voice airs in the UK on the BBC's flagship channel BBC1, which means the cost of the program, and in particular Minogue's high salary, are paid out of the taxpayer's pocket.

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Minogue will join will.i.am and Sir Tom Jones in the third series of the show.

She and a fourth coach, yet to be announced, will replace singers Danny O'Donoghue and Jessie J.

"I'm very excited to become a coach on The Voice," Minogue said in a statement. "I love the concept of the show and have been an avid viewer of both series.

"The search for new talent is such an important aspect of the music industry and The Voice gives us all a part to play in that.

"Will I be competitive? Probably more than even I imagine! Watch this space!"

British newspaper The Independent described the signing as a "coup" for the BBC.

There is no doubt Minogue has been high on the wish list of almost every talent show producer around the world.

"In terms of pop royalty, it really doesn't get much better than Kylie," the show's executive producer Moira Ross said.

Ross is head of entertainment at Wall To Wall, the production company which makes The Voice for the BBC.

Her previous credits include Strictly Come Dancing, So You Think You Can Dance and TV coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest.

"With more than two decades of global success under her belt, I know [Kylie] will bring something truly special to the coaching line-up," Ross said.

She will need to.

In its first season in 2012 The Voice drew 9.21 million viewers in the UK. In its second in 2013 it slipped to an average of 7.65 million. Its lowest rating program was just 5.14 million.

Those numbers may seem enormous in Australian terms, but the British TV market is significantly larger, in terms of both population and television sets in use and in real terms The Voice is under-performing there.

The last word, however, goes to the British entertainment news site Holy Moly.

They seemed a little skeptical of Minogue's appointment, but offered one piece of golden advice: "They still need a fella. And we literally can't think of anyone better than Jason Donovan."